


Aura Readings (gone wrong)

by whichstar



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crushes, F/F, replenish the Mailee tag on AO3 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichstar/pseuds/whichstar
Summary: Mai's aura flares a bright pink in a heartbeat. It isn't until the second heartbeat where Ty Lee's own face heats up with shock and she quickly looks away. It's rude to know if someone has a crush on you just by looking at their true colors.Wait... Mai has a crush on her?
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 78





	1. Keep it Platonic

**Author's Note:**

> I was like,,, what if-- what if Ty Lee can read auras and Mai has a crush on her and BOOM this was born. I still haven't finished writing it fully but hopefully I'll be able to finish it soon. I grew impatient in posting it because we need more multi-length Mailee fics!!!

There's two magazine segments Ty Lee follows almost religiously, one of them being Mura's Horoscope. It's the sole reason she finds herself buying the whole magazine, looking forward to what the new day will bring.

Especially with her ability to see auras, Ty Lee has always been fascinated by the spiritual. Finding this daily horoscope was like a dream come true for a once college freshman in an unfamiliar environment.

The segment right after the horoscopes is another good one Ty Lee enjoys reading. It has sarcastic commentary on the state of the world, or whatever the anonymous writer wants to talk about.

Ty Lee finds herself looking at the magazine with something like love every time she gets to those two segments. The ridiculously overpriced cost is almost worth it for the amount of serotonin she gleans as a result.

The anonymous writer though, they're something else. If Ty Lee had to choose a persona crush, she would choose the writer. Whoever they are, they're always so articulate and entertaining. Once, Ty Lee read a whole rant by the writer about why the color orange was the worst color and she enjoyed it! Ty Lee's been an avid reader of their work since she got to this school--maybe enough to count herself as an admirer?

Mura's Horoscope says she'll find out something new today! She idly wonders what it could be before joining Azula at the lunch table. A sea of gray surrounds her.

As different as every person claims to be, they all have very similar auras.

Ty Lee munches on her sandwich, contemplating the most popular aura colors and comparing them with what the magazine said was in store. Most students have a tired, dark, gray edging their auras--sleep deprivation--along with whatever emotion they're feeling at that moment. There's never any pure yellows of happiness in the crowded cafeteria, but sometimes someone shares a meme and auras will light up in response.

Most of the time it's a lot of grays and Ty Lee can't blame them, school is tiring. Her gaze wanders over to Azula inspecting her nails, her aura had gray in it too. It's mixed in with the usual electrifying blue but it's still there.

"Ty Lee." Azula doesn't even look up from her inspection. "Stop studying my aura, read your delusional magazine, or something."

Chastised, Ty Lee takes another bite out of her sandwich. "Fineee."

She turns her attention back to the magazine spread out in front of her. She didn't get to read the sarcastic commentator's part yet. The topic is about politics today, the author's sardonic tone ripping apart some new policy being put into place. Although uninvested in the political world, Ty Lee reads with interest. Agni, sometimes she learns even more from this segment than school!

Ty Lee is chuckling at one line -- _if I had a dollar for every smart move Ozai has taken, I'd be poor_ \-- when trouble in the lunch line catches her attention.

Usually, the lunch line is nothing much. The slow moving crawl makes it perfect to isolate individual auras and where she's sitting makes it perfect to eavesdrop on random conversations. Today, Ty Lee recognizes big burly Zhao sneering at a sullen Zuko. She tenses, waiting for a fight to break out.

But there's no need to worry because someone taps Zhao on the shoulder and it's no one other than Mai.

Zhao spins around, nevertheless, looking pissed; Mai just stares back with a blank expression, but her aura glows a protective green. Her voice is flat, emotionless, "You cut in line."

"So?" He growls out.

"That's rude," Mai informs the jerk senior. "Go to the end."

Ty Lee can feel Azula stiffen next to her, and she doesn't need to look to know her friend is shining an electric, volatile blue. She knows the two of them can march over right now and set the bully straight, but they don't.

Zhao's colors darkens into an ugly purple and he's about to say something but Mai leans in threateningly and whispers something to the taller male. Ty Lee can't hear but she wishes she could because the look on the bully's face is priceless. His mottled purple turns into the bright white of fear and Mai's deep canopy protective green flickers to show a blue satisfaction. Without a second thought, he scurries away, and Mai is left with Zuko.

They continue the conversation they were having before, Zuko looking a bit more cross than usual. His angry red simmers down to a more respectable orange, but the unease is still there. He relaxes even more at something Mai says, his aura lightening to a laughing peach.

Ty Lee wonders what they're talking about, what Mai told Zhao to make him back off so quickly. But then again, from what Ty Lee knows of Mai is that she's some politician's daughter; she must have plenty of dirt on people.

She struggles to hold in a cheer at the successful confrontation and it isn't until Mai snaps her head to her direction that Ty Lee realizes.

_Oh. Oh no._

Mai's aura flares a bright pink in a heartbeat. It isn't until the second heartbeat where Ty Lee's own face heats up with shock and she quickly looks away. It's rude to know if someone has a crush on you just by looking at their true colors.

_On me?_ Ty Lee feels light-headed. _Oh._

She cautiously watches in fascination as Mai's eyes closes for a moment and the bright pink recedes into a neutral blue-gray. It happens so fast that Ty Lee isn't sure if she imagined the pink or witnessed it with her own eyes.

But, why would she imagine something like _that_?

Mai meets Ty Lee's eyes again, her neutral faded blue-gray giving nothing away -- just like her expression -- and Ty Lee frowns. Mai has always been tricky to read. Albeit a bit closed off; she mostly only talks to the older students. Since, after all, she is one of the older students.

It seems almost impossible that someone like Mai could even begin to like someone like Ty Lee. Mai's way out of her league with that amazing fashion sense and flawless makeup. Even Ty Lee gets dizzy doing the mental gymnastics to figure out how Mai could possibly have a crush on her.

Against her better judgement, she waves at Mai, smiling, and gestures at the pair to come over. Azula outwardly groans when she sees Zuko make his way over but her aura shines a warm gold. Poor Azula, Ty Lee thinks affectionately, all bark and no bite.

Mai pauses for a second, flicking her head around. The blue-gray is edged with a lime green uncertainty and it isn't until Ty Lee gestures in a more insistent manner that Mai finally trudges her way over, a pink replacing the earlier green. Ty Lee feels guilty at the bolt of satisfaction that strikes her when she sees the change.

Zuko slumps into a seat, a stark contrast to the way Mai stiffly sits down. She does join Zuko in slumping in the end, though, and her aura is back to a neutral blue. But if Ty Lee looks closely, she can see sparks of pink flying out every so often. Especially when Ty Lee smiles at Mai, the sparks get more erratic.

The light pink flares is almost... _flattering_.

That's strange. Ty Lee has seen people crush on her before, yes, but those realizations were always met with a growing dread. Sure, at first, she basked in the attention, but it always backfired in one way or another. Her sandwich is finished as she mulls over the decision to let the crush be or let Mai down gently.

But Mai is so witty and pretty and so good at whatever she does. Ty Lee doesn't want to hurt Mai, even though she knows leading Mai on would just hurt more in the end.

It takes a while for Ty Lee to realize that no one's talking. It takes another moment for her to remember that she's the chatterbox of their group. She shakes the thoughts of Mai out of her head and resumes her destined role with rigor, filing away her musings for a more appropriate time.

The bell eventually rings and the four go their separate ways, but Ty Lee still unsure on what to do with the whole Mai situation.

At least the horoscope was right, she did find out something new today.

The next morning goes by slowly. Mai has a crush on her.

Huh, who would've thought.

Ty Lee has to admit that the realization doesn't bother her as much as the other people who had crushes on her before. Maybe it's because Mai isn't pestering her for a date, although the fact that she doesn't does make Ty Lee kind of disappointed. She's fairly certain she would say yes if Mai did ask her out.

She does feel a bit guilty though, because she's not supposed to know that Mai has a crush on her. That's private information. She wonders if Mai told anyone else about it yet.

She's outdoors, jogging to keep her heart rate up as she thinks. Maybe she should act as unflattering as possible so that Mai's crush on her fizzles out. Maybe she should learn what Mai dislikes in people and max that out to a hundred.

_Or you could just tell her you're not interested,_ says the annoying voice in her head.

Ty Lee picks up the pace in response to the wayward voice, sternly telling her brain: _no_. That would ruin their slight-friendship, most definitely, and Ty Lee doesn't want to lose that.

They're not all the way to friends, like Ty Lee is with Azula, but that doesn't mean Ty Lee would want their relationship to be ruined. Plus, not being able to talk to Mai would be horrible! Her sarcastic comments usually makes Ty Lee's day a lot better.

But what happens if Ty Lee ignores Mai's feelings? Wouldn't that be worse? The guilt for something she might be unintentionally doing is already eating her up inside out.

While passing a water fountain, Ty Lee finally decides to keep their relationship as platonic as possible. She likes Mai, but not in _that_ way, so she doesn't want to lead the other on -- or invade her privacy even more than she already has.

She's so caught up in her turbulent thoughts that she doesn't notice the person in front of her until it's too late. A large thump registers in her ears and papers goes flying in the air.

An apology bubbles out of her lips before she even recognizes the other person as Mai, who's eyes widens in surprise. Ty Lee immediately drops to her knees to help pick up the dropped items, suddenly conscious about her exercise clothes and smell of sweat. She quickly glances up at Mai to gauge her aura.

Mai steadfastly refuses to break her stoic expression when their eyes meet. It's no use, Ty Lee can see a lovesick pink blooming like flowers all around the taller girl.

It's kind of... _cute_.

The dropped papers are something that looks like an essay and, surprisingly, a magazine. She hands over the papers without a second look, but the magazine is familiar, its page open to something Ty Lee checks out frequently. "Mura's Horoscope? I love that segment!"

Mai raises an eyebrow while reaching for the items. "You do?"

"Yeah!" Ty Lee pauses and studies Mai. "I never pegged you for someone who reads these things."

Something very much like a blush colors Mai's face. She averts her eyes, huffing, "I don't. That issue's for Zuko."

Mai's aura colors into one of a muddy lie, but Ty Lee chooses to let it go -- much more focused on what Mai's wearing.

Beige, textured pants are matched with a black untucked shirt. The shirt reads in neon green letters "ILL". She wears a black and yellow plaid button up over it all, complete with a yellow knitted scarf. The whole getup looks amazing on her, and Ty Lee is almost embarrassed to be in plain joggers and an old pink crop top.

"Where are you heading?" Ty Lee asks, suddenly aware that she's staring.

"Coffee," Mai replies. "Before my lecture."

Ty Lee checks her phone, surprised that it's now late morning. It's a relief that her first class is in the afternoon. "Oh! I should get ready for my lecture soon too. Can I grab a coffee with you?"

She's suddenly reminded of the whole crush issue when Mai's aura tinges pink at the innocent question. It's a miracle that Ty Lee refrains from cursing at her mistake. She forgot about the whole crush thing because she was too busy admiring Mai's outfit! Oh Agni, she prays, let this be interpreted as a platonic coffee trip.

To Mai's credit, her face barely changes when she nods her head yes.

That's how Ty Lee finds herself getting some coffee with the girl who has a crush on her.

Ty Lee takes the time to strike up a conversation, careful this time to establish a clear boundary. The Jasmine Dragon is mainly a tea place but it sells coffee too. Mai gets hers black, with a little bit of cream; Ty Lee opts for a more sweeter drink.

They sit together at the window bar, looking out at the shops in front of them. Mai seems particularly interested in the flower shop, frequently staring at it when not looking at Ty Lee with those intense eyes of hers.

Because, Mai's gaze is fiery -- almost. They fixate on Ty Lee like she's the only one in the room. Like, she's actually listening. It's new, this undivided attention; Ty Lee's always used to sharing, having six identical sisters will do that to you. She starts wondering if Mai has always listened to her this way -- and if she did, how Ty Lee never noticed.

It's almost tragic that Ty Lee was blind to how carefully Mai listens to the people around her before. She recognizes it now, suddenly recalling all the moments where she saw Mai and Zuko talk. Then, she remembers the way Mai's stare cut Zhao down like grass yesterday and feels a shiver run down her spine.

Mai turns her stare to the flower shop across the street again and her eyes narrows. Ty Lee follows her stare to see a small kid walk hand in hand with an older woman.

She can't help but comment. "Aww he's so cute."

Ty Lee watches as Mai glows a warm shade of purple. The older student noticeably relaxes -- or maybe the colors make it look like she relaxes -- and nods in agreement.

"Do you know him?" Ty Lee impulsively asks, suddenly curious from the reaction.

"Yeah." Mai sips her coffee. "He's my little brother."

Ah, so that's why Mai was looking so intensely in the shop. The boy and what looks like his mom? Mai's mom? goes back into the shop, the door closing behind them, and Ty Lee switches the subject to something she's been curious about: the magazine.

Try as she might, Ty Lee can't get an answer to if Mai is equally a fan of the horoscope segment as she is. But either way, the conversation allows her to gush about her love of horoscopes so.. it really ends up being a win. Mai listens with clear amusement, obviously not into such things but perfectly fine with Ty Lee talking about it. Ty Lee likes that about her.

"What woud you want your horoscope to say if you could control it?" Mai asks unprompted.

Ty Lee considers the question. "I don't know, l'd say only good things? Like happiness and money and all that."

Mai has a slight frown tugging her face at the vague answer, and her aura discolors. Ty Lee is about to open her mouth and ask why when they're interrupted by Sokka who's holding a camera to their face.

"Ty Lee! Just the person I wanted to see." Sokka grins almost maniacally. His bright aura reads as restless energy, which is pretty normal to the guy.

She grins back. "Sokka! What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping Aang get some b-roll for a video project." Sokka points to his camera. "Can I get a shot of you guys chilling?"

Ty Lee's answer is obviously a yes so instead of replying, they both turn to Mai imploringly, who finally concedes with a nod. Sokka gets right onto directing the two of them into the positions he wants them to be in, fussing over the littlest details before finally starting to record.

Multiple versions are filmed before Sokka's finally happy with the outcome. He waves goodbye, promising to send Ty Lee the footage later.

"I better get going," Mai looks at the time on her phone. "It was nice meeting with you."

Ty Lee realizes with a pang that she doesn't want Mai to go. "Same here," she replies instead. "I gotta shower before my first class."

Mai stands up and, in one smooth motion, grabs their empty cups. The older student gives one final nod before heading off, throwing away the trash on the way. Ty Lee watches the blue-gray colors of Mai go, glad that the hangout seemed to stay platonic, but wistful for something more.

She doesn't know what the something more she wants entails.


	2. A Party

True to his word, Sokka sends over the footage a few days later. Ty Lee is on the midst of reading the new magazine issue on the school's lawn when she gets the text. The horoscope says she'll get some money, which coincidentally matches up with her payday at work. It's funny how these things work out.

Ty Lee opens the videos, cringing at the outfit she wore and the way her hair was frizzy from the jog. She pales in comparison to Mai in the background. They don't even look like they belong together at all, they seem like two strangers who happened to sit next to each other.

This specific video focuses on her waving at the camera, but Ty Lee's distracted by the way Mai looks at her. Mai who studies her like a piece of art, but says nothing of it.

Then, on-camera Mai turns her eyes to the camera and Ty Lee simply shatters.

Despite herself, despite whatever decision she made to keep things platonic, Ty Lee feels her cheeks heat up from the cool way Mai assesses the camera. Mai has such beautiful, golden eyes. How has Ty Lee never noticed this before?

She starts to replay that clip but catches herself, and instead places her phone facedown on the ground. But Mai's eyes never leaves her thoughts, even when she turns the magazine over to the anynomous commentator. Funnily enough, the writer's talking about horoscopes today.

"Ty Lee." Azula approaches her with a grin that almost always means trouble. "There's a party tonight, wanna come?"

Ty Lee stares at Azula strangely. Azula isn't the type to be invited to parties. Azula, if Ty Lee has to be honest, barely knows what fun is. She shuffles her feet, not knowing how to convey her confusion in a way that doesn't come off mean.

Azula rolls her eyes at Ty Lee's expression. "Zuko got invited and I'm tagging along."

That actually makes a lot more sense.

"As long as you don't set the building on fire again." Ty Lee concedes with a smile. "I'm all for it!"

Azula groans and mumbles something about that happening only once in their entire high school career (once is one too many) but Ty Lee is far too distracted by the appearance of Mai to care.

Mai and Zuko, to be clear. They almost always seem to be together, Ty Lee would've thought they were attached to the hip if she hadn't run into Mai alone days ago. Aang joins the two, jumping around like a little kid. His unstoppable energy seems to translate over to Mai because even she can't help her lips from curling upwards.

Her fashion is impeccable as always. Ty Lee feels a pang of jealousy at how flawlessly Mai can work layers. Ty Lee can barely wear a flannel over a hoodie without looking short and clumped, but Mai's working three layers almost perfectly. It must be those long legs, those to-die for legs.

The trio's seems to be heading to the library, Mai in a button up covered by a vest and long jacket; she looks good, of course, going for more of a prep look today. Aang's talking animatedly about something and while Zuko doesn't look as invested in it, Mai does. Her expression doesn't change much but her eyes seem to deeply consider what Aang is explaining.

She nods at Azula as they pass by, sparing a small glance at Ty Lee before averting her eyes and commenting something to Aang. He lights up and he enthusiastically nods while Zuko snorts. Ty Lee waves a second too late, Mai and the two boys are already past them; Azula snickers at the bad timing.

Ty Lee tunes back into the conversation with Azula, who's now on the topic of an encounter she had with politician or something. She nods at some points, glad that Azula has the tendency to go on bragging about herself so she can think about Mai.

Mai. What to do with Mai?

By the time it's time for morning classes, Ty Lee has decided to do nothing about Mai. She'll just wait it out until the crush fizzes out or something, as all crushes do. It's really no big deal, she's had a lot of crushes on both guys and girls and she always ended up okay. Hopefully Mai will be the same.

Azula's off to some boring political class and Ty Lee's left alone to find her way to her own class. She heads off in the opposite direction of Azula, waving hi to Suki -- her roommate -- on her way upstairs.

Briefly, she wonders if Mai will be at the party.

  
Unsurprisingly, Toph is the one hosting the party. Her parents are apparently away for some political thing, and Toph has wasted no time in inviting what seems to be the whole school. Loud music blares through the speakers and Ty Lee can barely make out what Azula is saying once they step in.

People are alit in colors, mostly purples and reds, Ty Lee sees, and a few sick green from the people who already had too much to drink. Azula and Ty Lee make their way to the drinks, Ty Lee politely refuses a cup -- claiming that she's a designated driver for today, which technically is a lie. She just doesn't want an aching hangover while she does gymnastics tomorrow. If it weren't for that, she would be getting as hammered as the rest of them.

She talks with Sokka over the ridiculously loud music and soon finds herself dancing with a stranger. Parties are always exhilarating and, even without drinking, it's a blur. Azula is lost somewhere and Ty Lee is quite less worried about that than she should be.

_Azula's an adult now, she can handle herself_ , Ty Lee assures herself. They're not in high school anymore and they're _definitely_ not under Ozai anymore. But a small part of her brain whispers in worry anyway.

Regardless, she's dancing until she spots Mai on a couch at the back of the room. The usually uptight girl seems relaxed as she talks to some stranger. Her expression is one of amusement and the way she holds her cup clearly shows that this isn't her first drink of the night. Mai's eyes briefly meets hers and they both quickly look away, but not before Ty Lee sees some of that familiar pink again.

That hint of pink is what encourages Ty Lee to walk up to Mai and say hi. She introduces herself to the stranger, his name is Kei Lo, and takes note of his annoyed expression. _Someone's_ angry about being interrupted.

Mai flashes a lazy, close-lipped smile, prompting Ty Lee to grin widely back. Ty Lee almost wishes she had alcohol to blame for the sudden burning in her cheeks. Mai's eyes are as intense as ever, even more so now with eyeliner that's so knife-sharp and straight that Ty Lee almost wants to ask how that possible. She's wearing a red top that's mostly covered by a black and red windbreaker. There's fishnets under her black shorts accentuating her legs. It's a complete one-eighty from the soft prep aesthetic she wore at school today, the only thing that has remained the same is the way she styled her hair in those two space buns.

Kei Lo continues his conversation with Mai, not so subtly flirting. Ty Lee has to hold in a laugh, even she can flirt better than that; but the targeted girl is Mai, and Mai doesn't seem to be the easiest to flirt with. While she permits Kei Lo to flirt, she never reveals how much it affects her; blinking like a cat as Kei Lo continues. One would be better off finding their way through the dark.

Mai takes another sip of her cup and unwinds further, basically taking up all the space on the couch. Ty Lee follows Kei Lo's eyes to the now exposed stomach of the dark haired beauty and she intakes a sharp breath. The aforementioned red top is actually a crop that slashes diagonally, ending right before the band of the fishnets.

In an effort to make herself less conspicuous, as opposed to Kei Lo who's blatantly drooling, Ty Lee perches on the armrest closest to Mai, averting her eyes. She makes small talk with a random stranger standing next to her, viscerally aware that Mai's eyes are on her for quite a while before turning back to Kei Lo.

Mai seems content to stay in her little couch area, letting people come to her like a queen in court. Ty Lee watches as Toph struts over at one point, bragging about the amount of money she scammed from a poker game. She laughs with the others as Katara, always the moral compass, tries to needle the blind girl into returning the money but to no avail.

While Mai stays where she is, Ty Lee finds herself moving back to the drinks, thirsty for some water. She grabs a cup, pours from the pitcher labeled 'water' and takes a sip, making a face at the taste. Someone has spiked it already. It's not strong though so Ty Lee gulps down the rest before throwing her cup into the bin, welcoming the slight buzz. Suki calls her over and Ty Lee goes willingly. The athletic girl isn't drinking either since she also has gymnastics tomorrow.

Eventually, she wanders the house for Azula, making her way to the gated front lawn where a group of people have seemed to have started a game of some kind. She spots her best friend around there, sitting on a lawn chair like an empress. Sokka's standing beside her, grinning goofily at Zuko, who's sitting on the ground like a petulant child.

Ty Lee moves to join them, interested in why Sokka's laughing. As she draws nearer, snippets of the talk can be heard.

"So your first instinct was to jump off the roof?" Sokka repeats disbelievingly.

"It's wasn't that big of a jump!" Zuko protests.

Azula looks up from her phone. "It was three stories, Zuzu."

Zuko blushes and his eyes land on Ty Lee. He desperately motions at her for some help, deflating when she shakes her head grinning.

"No, Zuko. Keep on telling your story," Ty Lee cheers. "What happened after you jumped from three stories?"

He groans, burying his head into his hands as Sokka laughs out loud.

"Ty Lee, there you are. I contacted a driver to pick us up later." Azula flicks her hand in the general direction of the street. "I'll send you their plate number and stuff."

"Great! Thanks for that, we can split the fare later..." Ty Lee trails off.

She's distracted by a familiar figure at the house's doorstep. It's Mai cutting her way through the crowd, walking to the gate with a disgruntled expression.

Scratch disgruntled. Mai looks pissed. Hot fumes of red outrage pours out of her, Ty Lee has never seen such vivid colors on the girl before.

Ty Lee glances around to see if anyone else also noticed the angry Mai. Zuko's too busy being embarrassed by Sokka, who's mercilessly mocking him. On the other hand, Azula has followed her gaze to spot Mai and meets Ty Lee's eyes, arching her brow questioningly.

"I wonder who got her pissed." Azula snorts.

"W- we should probably check up on her, right?" Ty Lee asks.

"Tell Zuko to do it."

Ty Lee shakes her head, and starts walking away. "No it's fine, I can do it."

"We don't have to split the bill if you're not riding along." Azula calls out; Ty Lee ignores the knowing tone in her voice, but that doesn't stop a blush from appearing.

She reaches Mai when they're three quarters across the lawn, falling into step beside the taller. She doesn't say anything as Mai unlocks the the gate. Aside from holding the gate open long enough for Ty Lee to slip through, Mai doesn't gve any sign that she noticed.

"Hey, Mai, where are you going?"

"Home." comes the flat answer.

Mai stalks towards the end of the street lined with cars, and Ty Lee sees the slight hesitation and wobble in her steps. There's no way Mai's fit to drive in this state; what is she thinking?!

"Are you driving?"

"Obviously."

"Mai," Ty Lee tugs at a windbreaker sleeve, halting their movement. "You're too drunk to drive."

"So what." Mai snorts, her red aura flaring up -- Ty Lee almost has to squint to see past it.

"Why are you leaving so early? The party's not even over." Ty Lee tries for a different approach, but regrets it as soon as Mai fixes her with a deadly glare.

"Why do you care." She questions, her words filled with venom.

Ty Lee pauses, thinking of another approach. Mai has to go home? Fine, Ty Lee can drive her. That should be legal, right? She's barely had any alcohol today.

Before she can suggest her idea out loud, Mai's already turning, snapping the windbreaker out of Ty Lee's hand. She starts up at a quicker pace, forcing Ty Lee to jog to catch back up.

"Mai! Mai, wait up!" Ty Lee calls, dogging Mai's steps until the taller comes to an abrupt stop in front of a black car.

Mai jerks stubbornly at the door handle and Ty Lee stops the motion with her arm. Fed up, and plenty frustrated, she looks at Mai with her best attempt at a stern glare.

"No."

Mai glares back with an even stronger intensity, if possible; enough to wilt a plant. She grits out. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ty Lee shoots back, forcing herself between the girl and the car.

A strangled sort of breath escapes Mai's mouth and, for a second, Ty Lee's afraid she pushed too far. Mai takes a step closer, forcing Ty Lee to press against the car.

"I'm sorry, is my baby brother being left home alone by two loving parents who couldn't be bothered to appoint a babysitter, or even let me know, not enough reason to hurry for you?" Her breath stinks. "Is me refusing to let my brother go through the same neglect I went through not enough reason to hurry for you?"

Ty Lee doesn't know what to say to that. Mai makes a sound in disgust, pushes her to the side, and is ducking her head in when Ty Lee finally has the sense to grab her by the sleeve.

"I'll drive." Ty Lee states firmly.

Drunken Mai has the audacity to look surprised. She opens her mouth to object but closes it swiftly at Ty Lee's expression, and walks to the other side without complaint. Ty Lee types a quick text to Azula before getting in as well, annoyed when a text that reads 'I knew it!' pings back.

"Address?" Ty Lee cautiously asks once they're settled.

Mai tells her directions and Ty Lee starts up the car. She's careful not to say anything rash, still reeling from the outburst from before. It was so unlike Mai that she can only assume it's the beer speaking. She briefly wonders just how much Mai has drunk today.

They travel in silence for a bit, Mai only speaking to clarify a direction. Whenever Ty Lee glances over to the passenger seat, Mai's looking out the window, deep in thought. Her aura's now a muted dark and dinghy gray -- Ty Lee doesn't like the look of that.

"So," Ty Lee starts after a while. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not particulary no," Mai grumbles out.

"Okay." Ty Lee retreats back into their silence.

She's pulling into a nice, neighborhood when Mai sighs. Ty Lee looks over to see Mai shift uncomfortably in her seat and turn her body to face forward.

Ty Lee barely hears the soft " _sorry_ " that occurs from Mai's lips. But it's there, however surly the tone is, and she can't help but smile smugly. At least Mai has the sense to apologize.

"It's okay," Ty Lee says back just as softly. She parks the car in front of a huge house -- she would say a mansion if she hadn't had prior experience with one before at Azula's.

Mai gives a small nod in thanks before rushing out the car and power walking to the front door. Ty Lee quickly follows, unsure what else to do but that. She watches as Mai struggles with the doors, wondering if she should help, but it soon opens, almost soundlessly, and Mai is off, not bothering to close it behind her.

Ty Lee steps in warily, flicking on the lights and closing the door. There, on the welcome mat, she stays, her eyes roam the spotless interior.

It's like a house from straight out of a magazine. The doorway she's in leads into a wide open living room, where three comfy looking couches form a half square around a large TV. The wooden paneled floor is so polished that it reflects the low light coming from the light Ty Lee turned on. A kitchen branches off into another area, separated by a couple of granite countertops. But, as picture perfect it is, it feels cold. It feels more like a model home than an actual house.

A light turns on upstairs, and Ty Lee can hear some murmuring. She shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably, wondering if she should leave. They're friends, yeah, but she doesn't think they're close enough to come to each other's houses. She stays put.

A kid, the same kid from the flower shop, walks down the stairs. He doesn't seem that surprised to see Ty Lee there, instead, he rubs his eyes. His aura is tinged with sleepiness.

"Mai told me to keep you company while she cleans up." He explains, he can't be more than seven.

"Oh." She brightens up, she loves kids. "What's your name? I'm Ty Lee!"

"Tom-Tom," the kid plops onto the couch. "Can we watch a show?"

Ty Lee racks her brain, is there any kid friendly content showing at 11 pm? Spirits, she hasn't seen any TV in forever, her blood is basically Netflix at this point. The thought hurts her ego, she doesn't remember being this out of touch with little kids.

She joins Tom-Tom on the couch, sinking into the plush cushions. Tom-Tom turns on the TV, a proud smirk on his face. It's similar to Mai's deadly smirk, Ty Lee notices, but on the kid it just looks cute. He obviously considers it a win that he gets to watch TV this late in the night.

The TV is showing something called 'The Legend of Korra', it seems harmless enough for Tom-Tom, and Ty Lee actually enjoys watching it too -- even if she has no idea what's going on. However, the girl named Asami is pretty and Ty Lee always enjoys pretty women.

Tom-Tom's staring at her, and she can't figure out why. He seems like he wants to say something, and Ty Lee's about to ask him about it when he blurts, "Mai never brings anyone over." 

There's a thin layer of suspicion there, and Ty Lee finds herself flushing for no reason. She struggles to keep a surprised choke from sounding and her tone neutral.

"Only Zuko's ever been here." Tom-Tom presses on. "He's cool, he gave me Spider-Man toys."

His tone indicates that he expects presents next time she visits, if there even will be a next time. Hmm, Zuko huh. That's not surprising, but it doesn't really make Ty Lee feel better about being here. She makes a mental note that Tom-Tom likes Spider-Man for future reference, just in case.

"I'll be sure to keep Spider-Man in mind."

"Mai says she has more friends than me, is it true?" The kid implores.

"Well, how many friends do you have?" Ty Lee asks playfully. "I bet you have way more than Mai does."

Tom-Tom pouts. "Not a lot. Father says not to make too many friends."

"What?" Ty Lee can't believe her ears. "You can have as many friends as you want."

"Are you Mai's friend?"

"Yeah, I even drove her home," she offers. "I can be your friend too."

Tom-Tom shrugs and turns his attention back to the show. He's too sleepy to continue talking; in a way, Ty Lee's almost grateful for that.

Minutes tick by and Mai appears from upstairs. She's out of her party clothes now, dressed in black pajamas and her hair's pulled back in a loose bun. Her expression gives nothing away but Ty Lee notes that her aura is a slow, seething red colliding with an apathetic gray. It's not a good mix.

She surveys the living room, holding a towel and spare clothes on one hand and a fat pastel greem dino plush on the other. Her aura colors into an affectionate one when she sees Tom-Tom. Without any warning she chucks the dino to them, and Ty Lee watches with slow horror as it smacks Tom-Tom right in the face.

He falls with a muffled shout, hands flying up to grab the plush. Ty Lee can't help but giggle at his offended expression.

" _Mai!_ " He complains, hugging the stuffed toy and remaining to lie on the couch.

Mai's eyes soften minutely as she strolls over to them. She bends over Tom-Tom, and Ty Lee watches with clear amusement while the older student noogies him affectionately. It's a new side of Mai she hasn't seen before, one that feels a lot more open.

The make-up's gone from her face now, revealing light bags under her eyes. Ty Lee can tell that traces of alcohol remain through the tired way she holds herself up, slumping a bit more than usual. She must've had a painkiller or something.

"What are those for?" Ty Lee asks, nodding to what Mai has in hand. 

Mai straightens, and looks down as if she forgot she was holding the clothes and towel. A slight orange tinges the sides of her aura, she's feeling embarrassed.

"Look," Mai starts flatly, uncomfortably, but then her words start running and slightly slurring over each other. "I'm sorry for acting that way to you back there, and thanks for keeping me from doing something stupid."

Ty Lee opens her mouth to reply but Mai forges on like she rehearsed this speech and will forget it if she stops. That familiar pink weaves its way through the orange.

"It's getting really late and I don't think you should go out alone at this time. I have some clothes you'll probably fit into so if you want to crash here you totally can, but it's up to you."

Frankly, the thoughtfulness shocks Ty Lee. She weighs her options, checking her phone for any new notifications and also sending a new text or two. A quick responding text later and she has her answer.

"I can stay but I have to get up early tomorrow, for gymnastics."

"That's okay, how early?"

"Like, six? And my friend Suki can pick me up around seven."

Mai's eyebrows relaxes a bit at Ty Lee's answer and nods. She hands Ty Lee the clothes and towel. "There's a guest bedroom and bathroom upstairs down the hall to your right."

Ty Lee stands, stretching her arms. She's suddenly aware of her midriff being out in full view for everyone and quickly stops the stretch, all too aware that there's a child -- and Mai -- present. She beams at the other student. "Thank you so much!'

The slight pause before Mai says "you're welcome" is the only hint that she's flustered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Ty Lee, for someone who can read other people's auras, you definitely can't read your own. Your aura might be pinker than you realize


	3. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author can't write drunk characters!

After that very nice shower in the guest bathroom, Ty Lee is feeling refreshed and relaxed until she sees the clothes Mai has given her next to the toothpaste Mai has also set out. Then the full gravity of the situation crashes down on her, and she grips the towel wrapping around her tighter.

She's in Mai's _house_.

She's about to wear _Mai's_ clothes.

The clothes aren't the problem, they're very nice clothes. There's a baggy black t-shirt with some sort of slogan on it and a pair of pajama shorts. Ty Lee thinks it's sweet that Mai was thoughtful enough to lend her some clothes. The problem is that they're not close friends and this could be sending all the wrong signals. Even worse, _Mai_ has a crush on her

Oh Agni, Mai has a crush on _her_.

Ty Lee finds it strangely ironic that all these things are happening right after she found out about Mai's crush. It's like for a plot, or something. She still can't believe that someone like Mai would have a crush on her, of all people.

She pulls the shirt over her head, forgoing her turbulent thoughts for right now. The tendrils of pink in Mai's aura are so endearing that Ty Lee doesn't even want to think about them disappearing (even if that was the original plan).

Her reflection in the mirror catches her eyes. Mai's preference for baggy clothes has made it so that the t-shirt comes down to mid-thigh length and almost covers the shorts she's wearing. But the clothes are comfortable, and Ty Lee feels so much better now that she's clean. The floral scent coming off the clothes relaxes her even more until she realizes that's probably what Mai smells like. For some reason, the thought makes her blush.

With a towel on her shoulders, she walks back down the stairs, marveling at the intricate artwork hanging on the walls. They're beautifully done, but she notices that there's no family pictures anywhere.

Mai and Tom-Tom are solving a puzzle when Ty Lee comes down, Spider-Man: Homecoming is playing in the background. They sit in the rug around the coffee table; Tom-Tom's using the foot of the couch as a backrest. Mai's hair is down now, free from the bun from earlier. It falls sleekly down her shoulders, framing her face as she matches pieces. She looks up at the sound of Ty Lee approaching, and Ty Lee can't help but feel slightly flattered when the pink shows up again.

"Why are you still awake?" Ty Lee asks Tom-Tom playfully. "It's almost midnight."

"Not tired." The boy yawns.

Ty Lee sits down next to Mai, aware just how close they are. A familiar floral scent grows stronger. She picks up a puzzle piece, comparing it to the turtle-duck on the reference picture. "Are you sure you're not tired?"

"Don't egg him on," Mai drawls. "He'll stay up by sheer will alone."

Tom-Tom ignores the comment and proceeds to gets distracted by the movie. He has a puzzle piece in hand, eyes practically glazing over as Spider-Man tries to keep some boat from falling apart, saved by Iron Man in the end. If it weren't for his open mouth and his age, the intensity in his stare could rival Mai's.

Ty Lee is once again struck by the similarities between the sister and brother. They both have jet black hair, complete with almond eyes (although Tom-Tom's is a bit rounder). Their facial expressions share an uncanny likeness, but they somehow give off two different vibes. While Tom-Tom's smirk is more mischievous, Mai's is devious.

The older sister gently plucks Tom-Tom's puzzle piece from out of his hand and matches it to one of the turtle-duck's eyes. She silently yawns, blocking her mouth with a hand and patting the Dino lying on the table besides the young boy.

Mai cares more about Tom-Tom then she lets on, Ty Lee realizes during this time. It's in the fond glances, the gentle way she talks to him, the little pats she gives every time he matches a piece. She treats him like how Ty Lee used to want to be treated by her own family.

Again, she's never seen this side of Mai before. It hasn't been since she learned of the crush that she's been uncovering new things about Mai. Sure she knew Mai was more of the quiet type filled with witty remarks, smart, beautiful even, but she never thought that they would be holding an impromptu sleepover together. It's crazy to think someone like Mai could even begin to like someone like her, all fraudulent and loose ends.

Ty Lee matches a piece, internally unpacking Mai's outburst at the car from what feels like ages ago. _Two loving parents who couldn't be bothered to appoint a babysitter_ \-- Ty Lee may not have the best home life, but she's pretty sure loving parents don't equate to forgetting to hire a babysitter. But that's not what bothers her the most; it's the _refusing to let my brother go through the same neglect I went through_ part. She can safely guess that Mai didn't have the best home life either.

The more she thinks about it, the more she finds herself respecting the girl next to her.

Mai rests her head on her hand, massaging it in the process. Tom-Tom is nodding off, a puzzle piece stuck on his forehead. Ty Lee notices how the siblings are starting to shut down so she slowly moves from one side of the coffee table to the other, coaxing Tom-Tom to bed. He barely complains, rubbing his eyes and trudging up the stairs, dino in hand.

Ty Lee sits back down next to Mai, who's barely able to nod her thanks with her arm obstructing her movement. They remain like that for a while, Ty Lee busying herself with the puzzle at hand. It's basically two-thirds finished, only the turtle-duck's shell is still missing; not bad for two sleep-deprived college students and a seven-year-old.

Mai supports her chin on her hand, leaning all her body weight to the side. Her legs cross, and her knee is almost touching Ty Lee's. She looks sideways at Ty Lee beneath those long lashes and heavy lids. "Thanks again."

"Don't worry about it." Ty Lee dismisses, all too aware of the close contact. "Should we go to bed too?"

Mai doesn't reply, choosing instead to position her head on the table, using her arm as a pillow. She blinks slowly. Ty Lee takes the time to focus back on the puzzle, the silence building.

"You're too kind," Mai sighs almost dejectedly after an electrically charged minute.

Ty Lee looks at the slightly drunk girl in concern, her heart doing backflips over how Mai's hair sweeps over her shoulders and frames her face.

"Wh- what do you mean?"

"It's not fair," Mai complains. "How can people not like you?"

Ty Lee's pretty sure it's the alcohol and lack of sleep talking because she doesn't think Mai would ever express these things out loud. Nevertheless, she feels her face heat up.

"Well you're cool too!" Ty Lee protests but the words die in her throat when she sees that the girl has fallen asleep. She gently shakes Mai's shoulder and gets a weak push in response along with some stirring.

The only coherent one left (which is Ty Lee) gently shakes her partner again. "Let's go to bed."

Mai yawns and Ty Lee has to help the older get up and up the stairs. Which is when she realizes that she doesn't know which room is Mai's.

They stand at the top of the stairs for a while before Ty Lee decides that it's too late in the night to care about shit like this and how it could be taken the wrong way. Out of ideas, she leads Mai to the guest bedroom, almost dropping her on top of the bed. She can deal with the consequences and implications later.

She sets a familiar alarm, and a couple more, on her phone. Luckily, there's a charger on the nightstand, provided by Mai from earlier. Ty Lee looks down at the girl on her bed, unsure in what to do, before sighing and getting to work on bringing the girl under the blankets. It's a tough job, but she gets it done, huffing and puffing as she first tucks in Mai's torso then her long limbs under the blanket. Mai is warm to the touch, and she feels deceptively fragile in Ty Lee's hands. The sheer vulnerability tugs at Ty Lee's heartstrings, and a wave of unbridled protectiveness washes over her.

Once that's done, she walks to the other side of the bed and carefully gets in. She scoots to the very end, her back towards Mai, and lets out a deep breath. The bed feels way too small but huge at the same time; like she can't decide if she can't get close or far enough. Bed sharing has never been so hard.

Somehow, Ty Lee finds it in herself to fall asleep.

Mai's not in bed when Ty Lee wakes up to her alarm. A bolt of worry shoots through her at the recognition. The spot right next to her is still warm so it couldn't have been that long ago when Mai slipped out, maybe she returned back to her room or downstairs? Ty Lee yawns, it's too early to guess. She gets up grudgingly, going into the bathroom to brush her teeth before unplugging her phone and walking out of the guestroom.

There's sound coming from the kitchen so Ty Lee curiously pokes her head in and is confronted with a familiar backside standing in front of a counter. Mai looks behind her shoulder, nodding slightly to acknowledge Ty Lee's appearance.

"Do you want some tea?" Mai asks, moving to the left to reveal that she was in the midst of brewing some.

"Yeah, thank you!" Ty Lee keeps her volume down. "When did you wake up?"

"Not long ago." Mai's face wrinkles. "Stupid hangover."

"How much did you drink last night? You pulled it together pretty well in front of Tom-Tom."

"Not enough to puke, but enough to feel terrible. The painkiller helped, I think."

Ty Lee nods in sympathy, taking a spot on the table. They both deliberately don't mention that they slept in the same bed last night, or what Mai said -- Ty Lee isn't even sure if Mai remembers what she said.

"What do you usually eat before exercising?" Mai asks, bringing over two steaming mugs. She places one in front of Ty Lee and the other next to a book. "We have some yogurt, fruit, whatever you need."

"Oh," Ty Lee blinks. She was expecting to go without breakfast this morning. "I actually could go for some yogurt."

Mai walks over to the fridge, grabbing some packaged yogurt. Ty Lee takes the chance to catch up on all her notifications fron last night, which are mostly mentions from social media. Suki has sent a text saying that she just woke up, and Ty Lee replies saying the same thing along with the address.

"We have the stuff to make your own yogurt, but I figured you were in a hurry." Mai says, handing over a spoon. "Also is strawberry okay? We have peach and mango if you want a different flavor, I just thought you'd prefer strawberry th-."

Ty Lee interrupts Mai's speel with a hum of gratitude. For someone who acts all silent, Mai sure fumbles over words when flustered. Her aura is blooming all sorts of colors! Ty Lee sends over a smile that grows larger when the pink overtakes the nervous peach-color in Mai's aura.

"Strawberry is perfect!" Ty Lee assures the older student before gesturing to sit down.

Mai complies, opening her book, and the morning is awashed with a companionable silence. Ty Lee can't imagine a moment more peaceful than this. She enjoys her yogurt, and is distracted by the steaming mug of tea until she looks up to see Mai blatantly staring at her from above the pages.

Their eyes meet and Mai quickly looks aside, the tips of her ears turn pink. She brushes the moment off like it never happened, suddenly really into reading. It happens so fast that Ty Lee wouldn't have believed her own eyes if it weren't for the fact that her heart is now pouding in her ears.

Ty Lee wants to make a quip, make the charged atmosphere lighter, but she can't bring herself to. Because now with Mai steadfastly staring down, Ty Lee can truly admire how pretty Mai is in the mornings.

Maybe, just maybe, Ty Lee wants this moment to last forever. Maybe she wants to remember this moment every time she closes her eyes. Maybe she wants to engrave it in her mind so that she can always go back to it whenever she's stressed or lonely.

She's staring. She knows she's staring, but she can't stop looking. Drinking in the light dancing across the smooth plains of Mai's cheeks; savoring the way her hair falls like a curtain holding mysteries; studying the way her eyes are shaped and hold the flames of a burning hearth in them.

Her phone rings and the moment's broken. Suki's name flashes onscreen and Ty Lee answers it with her heart in her throat.

"Ty Lee! I brought over your clothes, do you want to change here or at the lockers?"

"I... umm... I'll be out in a bit," her eyes wander over to Mai. "I think it'll be better if I change here."

"Okay, See you soon!" The line disconnects.

Mai waits patiently for Ty Lee to gather her thoughts before standing up and making her way to the front door. Ty Lee follows and she definitely does not find herself eyeing those long legs in front of her.

The front door opens and Ty Lee speeds towards Suki's beaten down car. Suki rolls down the passenger seat's window, raising her eyebrow at what Ty Lee's wearing. Her regular green aura lightens up in curiousity.

"Umm.. fun night?" Suki offers quizzically, handing the clothes off.

"Nope!" Ty Lee yelps, then composes herself. "Not a fun night, we just hung out."

"I can see why changing here is the better option." Suki grins. "It definitely sends the wrong message."

Ty Lee flushes and decides that this is the best point to leave the conversation. She rushes back to the house, calling over her shoulder. "I'll be right back!"

Suki rolls up her window as a response. The windows are tinted but Ty Lee just knows that her fellow athlete is checking Mai out on the porch. And honestly, who can blame her?

Mai moves to the side to let Ty Lee in and closes the door behind them. She points. "Bathroom's on the first left of that hallway"

"Thank you!" Ty Lee dashes off, not intending for Mai to see her blush.

She changes clothes in record time, but pauses at the bathroom door. She looks down at Mai's clothes in hand, and without thinking she pulls them up to her face and smells them. They smell like Mai, and the thought makes her smile. She then promptly ignores that thought.

Mai's waiting in the same place. She takes the clothes from out of Ty Lee's outstretched arms and the corners of her eyes pull upwards. "Thanks again for last night."

"Thanks for letting me stay over."

"Have a good day."

"You too! I'll see you at school?" Ty Lee can't help the hopefulness that seeps into her voice.

Mai nods and takes a step back from the door. Ty Lee opens it and gives one final wave before walking down the sidewalk to Suki's car. She can hear the door close behind her as she gets in, immediately bombarded with questions.

"Who's she?"

"Her name's Mai."

"She's pretty."

"Isn't she? She's stunning." Ty Lee tries to sound as casual as possible. She compliments girls all the time with Suki, why should Mai be any different? However, her voice comes out all flustered and wistful.

"Care to explain why you spent the night there?"

"She was too drunk to drive home so I drove for her and I just ended up staying over." Ty Lee forces her tone to become more casual.

"Just ended up, huh." Suki makes a left turn and Ty Lee can just feel the amusement radiating from her fellow athlete.

"Well, yeah." Ty Lee laughs, and changes the subject awkwardly. "So, straight to the gym right?"

Suki sends over a look that says that she knows what Ty Lee's trying to do and nods before bringing the topic right back. "So, Mai, is it?"

"Yeah?" Ty Lee's voice comes out slightly strangled.

"Is there something you wanna talk about?" Suki prompts.

"No, not particularly no." Ty Lee deflects, but she doesn't even know if that's the truth.

_Is there_ something Ty Lee wants to talk about?

"Sounds like you like her a lot." Suki comments and that's the end of that.

Ty Lee ignores the flurry of butterflies that erupt in her stomach at those words.

"Yeah, I guess I do."


	4. Yellow Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG!!!

Ty Lee starts spending a lot of time with Mai. It's not on purpose, she just finds herself gravitating to the girl. She spends even more time with Mai than Azula, which is saying something. She thinks her old friend is getting slightly jealous with the amount of times a text from Mai interrupts their conversation; it's kinda funny to see Azula's eyebrows jump up at the ringtone in annoyance.

"You set a different tone," Azula comments at one point after her phone dings.

"Yeah?"

"You haven't changed your notification sound since we started college. Why'd you change it now?"

Ty Lee pauses, not wanting to admit that she actually only set Mai's tone to a different sound. But it's futile, her phone rings the default tone with a text from Suki.

Azula's brows jump higher, knitting together. Her usual electric shade of blue fades into a know it all green and she starts smirking. "You only changed Mai's tone?"

"No..." Ty Lee denies, but there's no point. Her phone rings again from Mai and the difference is apparent. Mai's tone is a short whoosh of air compared to the regular dinging of a bell.

"I see." Azula gets that glint in her eyes, but continues their original conversation. 

What's frustrating is the amount of smug looks she's getting from everybody. Well, Azula has all the smug looks. With others, it's not so simple. A casual mention of Mai turns a bored Suki into an invested one. Sokka even starts to pick up that something's going on, and Zuko suddenly hangs out with Mai less and less. It's driving Ty Lee up a wall; what's she missing that others have already caught on about?

At times like this she wishes she could read her own aura. It would be so much easier to sort through the colors instead of picking out and sorting through her emotions one by one.

Like, sure, Ty Lee is more emotionally aware than some of these pieces of brick out there (like Sokka), but Mai confuses her. She's half convinced she's only considering the romantic attraction because she knows of Mai's crush. That must be why she's picking up on all the little things, right? Because she's on high alert now for all the signs of a crush.

To make matters even worse, the magazine has announced that it'll be ending soon. Ty Lee can't believe it, that magazine is her literal lifeline, and she'll never find out who the anonymous commentator is! And never getting a daily horoscope again? Pain, all is pain.

"You there?" Mai breaks Ty Lee out of her thoughts, the two are hanging out again with Azula. The three of them are drinking milkshakes at some fast food chain.

Ty Lee frowns. "The magazine I like is ending soon."

Mai pauses, as if in surprise, then gives a noncommittal grunt.

Azula shakes her head. "Good riddance. I'll never understand what you read in that thing that makes it worth that price."

Ty Lee pouts and shrugs, she doesn't know either. But at this point she's become so attached to the horoscope and anonymous columnist that she can't imagine not reading the magazine.

"It's so sad." Ty Lee dramatically flails her arms and declares. "That magazine got me through my freshman year."

At least Azula can feign sympathy, even if Ty Lee can see right through it. Mai, on the other hand, acts apathetic about the whole situation, giving a consoling pat on Ty Lee's hand. Ty Lee can see a forlorn tint, however, and she briefly wonders what that could mean. Mai does have some connection with the magazine, Ty Lee remembers their run-in the day after she found out about the crush, although she hasn't doesn't know what that connection exactly is.

Ty Lee pouts as she sips her chocolate milkshake. She dramatizes. "I'll never be able to meet the people behind the magazine, my one true loves."

"One true loves," Mai repeats dryly, she sounds sarcastic but her aura colors light yellow in amusement.

"Bye bye anonymous columnist." Azula agrees.

Ty Lee watches, surprised, as Mai almost spits out her straw. The newest addition of their group raises an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?"

"Missing what?" Ty Lee asks.

"Oh, the anonymous columnist." Azula's eyes narrows and her face splits into a calculating smile. "Ty Lee never told you about her deep admiration for the author?"

"Not particulary, no." Mai schools her face into a neutral one, but her aura pulses with sudden interest.

Their order of fries comes out and Ty Lee goes to go grab them, continuing their conversation right when she gets back. "I didn't? I could've sworn I mentioned that I liked the guy's writing."

"You did," Mai says all too quickly. "But never the part where you have a crush on them."

"It's not technically a cr-"

"It is most definitely a crush." Azula interrupts. "Ty Lee, you spent all of freshman year trying to figure out who the writer was."

"I was curious!"

Mai's eyes ping pongs back and forth as she keeps track of the conversation. Ty Lee finds it adorable, but she keeps that sentiment to herself.

"You sneaked into the advanced writing class to willingly read essays to see if any of the students there matched the columnist's style, Ty Lee. That wasn't curiousity, that was obsession."

"No, it was just extreme curiousity. Plus, it was a solid plan, the mystery writer has such an unique way of viewing the world and writing. I swear I was so close to finding them!"

"You read essays. Willingingly."

Ty Lee holds up a fry defiantly. She mimics those old timey villain voices from old tv shows. "And I would do it again."

"Sure. And you would be caught again because, if you don't remember, you fell asleep reading the fourth essay."

"In my defense, the fourth essay was uninteresting. I've read more complex concepts made simple by the columnist that kept my interest than that junk."

Mai snorts then shoves some fries in her mouth.

"Don't forget you also found their blog because you wanted more content." Azula examines her nails, she's enjoying this.

"Hey! That was pure chance, not because of my 'supposed' obsession."

"They mentioned they have a blog once and you found the site by the end of the day."

"They had a sizeable number of followers. It was easy."

"You figured out that they were a polisci major from the coursework they barely mentioned."

"Honestly, their liking for physics threw me off at first."

Ty Lee ignores the flurry of color changes Mai's aura goes through before it settles on a salmon red. She faintly remembers that Mai is a polisci major herself who also took physics as her science credit. Why someone would subject themselves through a class like physics Ty Lee will never understand.

"You said you would gladly marry whoever was behind the articles because they had a.." Azula lifts her hands to form air quotes. "A sexy brain."

Mai joins the conversation, her voice holding a strange mix of amusement and judgement only she could convey. She picks up a fry. "Would you really?"

"I- um..." Ty Lee falters, caught off guard at Mai's interference. "Y- yeah!"

Mai's salmon colored aura turns a little pinker, which comes as a surprise. Ty Lee leans in closer to the table to study the colors, and, consequently, closer to Mai, who sits across from her. Her eyes dart to Mai's lips, as there's a bit of cream stuck to it, for a split second before looking away, cheeks burning. Azula, who's right next to Ty Lee, mutters something about being a chaperone before handing Mai a napkin.

"All I'm saying," Azula says, exasperation in her voice. "Is that you have a crush on the anonymous columnist person."

Mai licks her lips before accepting the napkin and wiping her mouth. Ty Lee tries her hardest not to stare and instead gulps down her milkshake.

"Okay so maybe I do have some sort of a crush on the anonymous author." Ty Lee concedes as a way to distract herself from how inviting those lips look.

"All you had to do was admit it," Azula triumphantly takes another drink of her milkshake.

Mai's phone rings and she picks it up. Something in her expression hardens and Ty Lee sees her aura fade into an apathetic and dinghy gray. That's not good.

"I got to go." Mai stands up, folding her arms primly across her stomach as if preparing to take the honorary bow in greeting elders.

"Bye?" Ty Lee worriedly says. She has long since figured out that whenever Mai's aura turns gray it's most likely her parents. And, as much as Ty Lee wants to, Mai never likes help with family matters.

Azula raises a hand to say goodbye, her expression carefully molded into an unreadable one. If it weren't for the worried shade of brown tinting her aura and the slight knit of her brows, Ty Lee would've never known her best friend to care.

Mai gives a half hearted wave before leaving, throwing out her milkshake on the way out. Ty Lee watches her go, wondering what her parents could've called her in for. Maybe watching over Tom-Tom? Or maybe it's for some political thing.

Her and Azula soon part after that, the hangout ruined by Mai's absence. Or, rather, Mai's parents' interference. Ty Lee feels a frown forming as she walks to the nearest bus stop. She doesn't understand how Mai can put up with such a suffocating grip on her life.

Partly she knows it's because of Tom-Tom. Still, it's not fair.

She shoves her hands in her pockets and decides it's time to hit the books. She's not going to get any fun in while she's worrying about Mai.

The bell above the door rings, signaling her entrance into the flower shop. It's quite early so there's no other customers here. Ty Lee takes a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of flowers and being instantly reminded of Mai. It smells like Mai in here.

"Welcome!" A kind looking lady bustles over. She's wearing a dirtied white apron with a yellow flower embroidered on it. Smile lines etch her face and she carries herself with perfect posture. Her aura reads a welcoming blue. For some reason, she looks familiar. "How can I help you?"

"Hello." Ty Lee smiles. "I'm looking for a boquet for a friend."

"A friend?" The lady arches an eyebrow, an action that reminds Ty Lee vividly of Mai.

"Yeah, my friend is competing in this tournament," Ty Lee explains. "I'm almost sure she'll win, so flowers would be a nice touch."

The lady claps her hands together in understanding. "I see, flowers for winners, eh?"

Ty Lee nods and follows the lady throughout the shop. They pass the gardening section and some colorful flowers before stopping at the pre-made bouquets. The lady turns expectantly, and Ty Lee catches a glimpse of her nametag, which was previously out of her line of sight.

_Huh, that's funny_. Ty Lee knits her eyebrows as she places the name. _That's the name of the Horoscope lady._

"Miss?" The lady prompts, bringing Ty Lee out of her revelation.

"Ah, yes, these will be perfect." Ty Lee points to a random bouquet under the Congratulations label. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts as the lady grabs the bouquet for her.

There's no way this lady runs a horoscope business. She's the furthest thing from a magic ball using, turban wearing, raving woman Ty Lee has originally pictured. Maybe Mura is a common name.

Still, even with doubts in her mind, Ty Lee can't help but ask when they reach the cash register. "Do you, by chance, run the horoscope segment in a local magazine?"

Mura blinks, her aura the orange of surprise. "I do, in fact. My niece was searching for a side job and I applied for a spot on the magazine with her because she refused to otherwise. It was fun finally putting all my astrology knowledge to use; such a shame the magazine is ending."

Ty Lee's mouth drops open. She numbly hands over her card before she can form actual sentences. "I loved your segment!"

"Thank you," Mura smiles that kind old lady smile.

"What segment did your niece do?" Ty Lee asks with interest, hope coursing through her veins. She leans against the counter.

"The anonymous segment." Mura gushes, like any proud aunt, she clearly loves bragging about her relatives. Her aura is a royal purple. "I pushed her to use her name but she refused, such a shame too. She has such interesting topics. She deserves recognition for them."

If Ty Lee's mouth dropped open before, it's her stomach that's doing the dropping now. "No way, that was one of the best segments inside the whole magazine! Besides from yours, of course."

Mura waves her hand airily. "What can I say, she has a gift."

Ty Lee takes her card back and pockets it before receiving the bouquet. She suddenly feels shy. "May I have her name? We go to the same uni and I've been dying to know who it was the whole time."

"Where's the mystery in that?" Mura asks, her proud expression turning into a familiar smirk Ty Lee has seen only on two other people -- and those two people were siblings. The cogs in Ty Lee's brain starts turning.

A hand pops out from behind the counter and waves, startling Ty Lee. The head of a kid barely taller than the counter peeks out and Ty Lee recognizes him as Tom-Tom. He waves. "Hi Ty Lee."

"Tom-Tom!" Ty Lee exclaims. "What are you doing there?"

"Helping Auntie Mura."

The said aunt bends down and grunts as she lifts the kid onto the counter. Tom-Tom immediately swings his legs over to face Ty Lee.

Everything clicks at once. "Where's Mai?"

Tom-Tom shrugs. "Somewhere."

Mura gets this knowing expression on her face. She winks. "Looks like you already know who Anonymous is."

Ty Lee can barely bring herself to nod. She starts backing away from the counter. Her face has a strange look on it, she knows, but she can't help it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Mura calls out, but Ty Lee has already dashed out the door.

_Agni. I'm so stupid._ Ty Lee berates herself. All the clues have pointed straight to Mai, ever since the get go! She passes the coffee shop where Mai pointed out her little brother at the flower shop. _A polisci major who likes physics, someone in their university who took advanced writing, Mai's unexplained knowledge of the magazine Ty Lee reads_.

Mai must be at Suki's tournament by now. Ty Lee thinks this right as she reaches the entrance of the subway, taking the steps down as fast as she can. They had agreed to meet in the private room Azula booked -- with a lot of bribery -- meant for all of Suki's friends.

She nervously bounces her leg up and down during the short subway ride. The flowers jiggle dangerously in her hands. Ty Lee really can't bring herself to care about the wellbeing of the flowers because her body is one step away from exploding due to the way her head's spinning.

She has the ability to read auras and see the true feelings of any person -- and yet! She only found out about Mai's crush not even that long ago! And she didn't do anything about it, like a coward. Now, she just learned that Mai was the really smart and analytical columnist of the magazine Ty Lee followes religiously with the horoscope segment writer-slash-flower shop owner as an aunt. The very columnist Ty Lee had declared she had a crush on, IN FRONT OF MAI!

One can clearly understand how Ty Lee might feel about that.

Ty Lee moves to cover her face but stops herself right before a bunch of flowers threatens to smash into her. She groans, and makes a decision.

So, Mai likes her. She likes Mai. There’s a clear solution to a problem that she herself made, and one she’s been dancing around for pretty much nothing. She thinks about Mai's burning, captivating stare in the video. About the morning Mai made her tea. About how Ty Lee keeps finding herself getting distracted by her lips whenever they hang out.

She takes a slow and steady breath. The subway trains slows to a stop and the doors whoosh open.

Strenght floods her limbs and Ty Lee finds herself taking the stairs two at a time. The morning runs prove effective in catapulting herself to ground level and continuing to run at record speed. She's out of breath, aching, and sore by the time she's standing in front of the tournament building, but she can't find it in herself to care about her burning muscles. She doesn't know how long the burst of courage and adrenaline will last and she needs to ask Mai out before it's gone.

Hauling in a deep breath to settle her heaving chest, she steps into the organized chaos that is the stadium. It's impossible to run here so Ty Lee contends herself with a power walk that could rival most CEOs. The elevator button is pushed. She taps her foot impatiently at the elevator, and throughout the elevator ride, drawing some annoyed looks from a family of four.

Too bad for them. She runs out of the elevator a soon as the doors open and skids to a stop in front of the private room, bouquet in hand. It's a bit banged up and some of the stems are broken, but otherwise it's fine. Ty Lee gingerly picks out a yellow rose, raises her hand with the rose to knock.

She jerks it back in surprise when Mai opens it up herself, annoyance on her face. "Please stop stomping through the hall- Ty Lee?"

A bolt of pleasure surges through Ty Lee's spine when Mai says her name with such mystified shock mixed in with the husky and raspy tone she has in the morning. Mai is not allowed to say her name like that ever again, it's too dangerous. Ty Lee feels her cheeks grow redder.

"Want to go to the hot springs with me?"

Mai inhales sharply and her mouth makes a slight O-shape. "What?"

"No no _no_! Oh no." Ty Lee dies on the spot. She just asked Mai the Fire Nation equivalent of netflix chill. "Hold on, not like _that_. I mean, like a date!"

Mai inhales sharply again.

Ty Lee thrusts the yellow rose into Mai's hands, tears threatening to ruin her makeup. This is not going as planned. "No, no! I meant like a regular date?! Like, we could go see a movie, I know you've been wanting to watch that new one. Maybe dinner? _Maybe kissing?_ " She backtracks, digging herself into a deeper hole. "Only if you're comfortable, though! I just really like you and--"

"I--." Mai's eyes grow impossibly big. She fumbles, gripping the yellow rose so tight that her knuckles turn white. "I-- _yes_. Wait.. y- you're asking me out?"

"Oh. Fucking. Spirits!" Suki slips past Mai out the door and pulls the two of them inside. She slams the door shut before turning on them. "You guys are so bad at this."

Azula nods from the couch at the side of the room. She's watching Ty Lee fail miserably like a live studio audience would. Her side of the wall has enough couches to fit Ty Lee's whole family. On the opposite side are chairs facing a large window that looks over the sparring grounds. A table sits in the middle of the room.

Suki turns towards Ty Lee, exasperation written on her face. "I have never seen you so flustered, girl, get it together." She turns towards Mai. "Sup, beautiful. Ty Lee would love to take you out sometime. She'll pick you up at four tomorrow to watch a movie. Pick something sad so she can cling to you because she's a huge crybaby and softie. Dinner after. Sunset time at an outside area because, again, she's a softie and would love to watch the sun go down with you."

" _Suki!"_ Ty Lee shouts.

"Love you, boo." Suki blows a kiss. "Now, I have to go legally beat people up. See you guys!"

She dashes out the door, leaving a flabbergasted Mai and Ty Lee behind with a throughly amused Azula.

"So." Mai breaks the awkward silence after a minute passes. Her brow arches the same way Mura did earlier today. "You do know what yellow roses mean, right?"

Azula doesn't even try to hide her snort as Ty Lee frantically takes a moment to wrestle her phone out of her purse with her free hand and search it up.

_A yellow rose symbolizes friendship._

Ty Lee smashes her phone into her forehead, so over the embarrassment this morning has brought her. _Friendship_? Of all the colors roses come in, she picked the one that symbolizes _friendship_? Agni can strike her with lightning right now and she wouldn't even be mad.

Mai must see the agonized expression on her face because she laughs. Like, really laughs. Her aura is so pink, Ty Lee is stunned into being speechless. A wide grin spreads over Ty Lee's face because Mai's the color of cherry blossoms with yellow fireworks of happiness scattered throughout, and Ty Lee just knows that her own aura reads the same way.

The taller girl gently takes the bouquet where Ty Lee so obviously got the rose from and places it on the table. Ty Lee lets go without much effort.

"For Suki?"

Ty Lee nods.

Mai looks over the worn bouquet with a critical eye. Her skilled hands brings it back to life, the only way a florist's niece can. Ty Lee watches in awe, and promises herself to read up on flower meanings later. Mai meets her eyes, and they both duck their heads away, suddenly shy.

Azula leans forward on the couch with interest.

Mai quickly excuses herself, saying she has to get a cup of water for the plants. Her long legs stride out the door, and Ty Lee's eyes follows her until the door clicks shut.

The events that just transpired flash through Ty Lee's head. She should be embarrassed, melting with shame for the way she asked Mai out. But she did it, she has a date. For now, Ty Lee has a date. She stands rooted in place for a full minute, staring at the closed door, before she pumps her arm triumphantly in the air and cheers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this fic! I just really love Mailee ahhhh. This is the point where I planned to end it so it is officially complete! But who knows, I might update a follow-up in the future since it's an open ending. Currently, that is not the plan though.


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